SHAKESHAFT, Henry Hurtle
| Service Number: | 1451 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Parkside, Adelaide, South Australia, July 1883 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1451, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1451, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Harry Hurtle Shakeshaft was born July 1883 in Parkside South Australia. He lived with his mother, Mrs Annie Jane Cook, and had no siblings. He was single and had no children. In his adult life he lived in O'Connell Street, North Adelaide and worked as a clerk. Standing at 5 ft, 5 inches and weighing 58kg, Harry Hurtle shake shaft signed to serve the king in the Australian imperial force until the end of war.
On 30th November 1914, at the age of 31 he enlisted to war then signed to serve the 10th Battalion from 28th of October 1915 to 7th of March 1916.
On 25 April 1915, Shakeshaft and the 10th Battalion travelled to Gallipoli on the Ionian SS ship for their first battle where they were heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of ANZAC position. When he arrived, he immediately gained a promotion to join the Mediterranean expeditionary force and was lucky to not have any injuries as on just the first day there were 27,000 casualties and 7549 died.
As he fought with the 10th Battalion at Gallipoli for the next few days, he was unfortunate to be injured in battle with a gunshot wound to the thigh. On the 29th of April he was transferred to Cairo on the Gascon ship where he attended hospital. Finally, some luck came his way as after serving his country for 8 months, he gained a promotion to become a Lance Ccorporal on the 28th of November. Unfortunately, 2 months later, on the 10th of December he started to come down with many illnesses such as pyrexia. These illnesses were the after effects from the gunshot wound where it affected the muscles in his leg for the rest of the year. He was transferred to Mudros in hope of a quicker recovery.
On the 1st of August 1916 Shakeshaft and the 10th Battalion were billeted until the 14th. This means they stayed at a small camp while the war was still happening. They continued to train and prepare at the camp for their next major battle. Later In July 1916, the battle of Pozieres marked Australia’s entry onto the Western Front of WW1. In this battle the Germans had captured a small town called Pozieres in France. The Australian and British Allied Forces needed to capture this town and defeat the Germans. The massive artillery attack from the Germans at Pozeres inflicted a huge number of casualties among the Australians. There were 23,000 casualties and 6,800 men died. Thankfully he survived this terrible battle and later on the 19th of august he was promoted to become part of the Corporal Army.
After the war at Pozieres, the 10th Battalion fought at Ypres in Belgium before returning to the Somme region in France for the winter. Now stationed back at Somme in France on the 26th of December he fell unwell and was in and out of hospital with Myalgia which is severe aching muscles.
Throughout Shakeshaft’s time of fighting in war, there have been many instances where he has demonstrated ANZAC spirit qualities and character traits of being a leader for his Battalion. He made many achievements at war of promotions such as becoming a Lance Corporal after many injuries and sicknesses. Shakeshaft showed much resilience as he continued to push through and fight in war after his brutal gunshot wound. After fighting with the 10th Battalion for many years, along with many injuries and sicknesses he faced,on the 21st of January 1917, Shakeshaft embarked the Euripides ship to return home to Adelaide, Australia. Shakeshaft later then died on the 24th of September in 1956 aged 73.